Intentional Toddler Time {19.5 months}

{Samuel is currently 19.5 months old}

Planning Intentional Toddler Time

Intentional Toddler Time is a lot of fun for us. Each week I have a plan, and each week it never goes as planned. However, we do far more together than we would if I failed to plan.

Each Saturday I sit down with my planning worksheets, and think through what I want to focus on the following week with Samuel. You can download my Intentional Toddler Time Planning worksheet here: Tot School Weekly Planning Sheet. This is what I use to plan and organize my thoughts for the upcoming week.

Weekly Goals

• Theme: Fruits
• Letters to work on: Aa
• Colors to work on: Red
• Shapes to work on: Circle
• Habits to work on: Obedience

Last week, I downloaded and laminated the Fruit Tot Pack from 1+1+1=1. You can find it here. Samuel has taken a particular interest in coloring, lines, drawing, and shapes. I gave these a try a couple of weeks ago and Samuel loved them. Each week he gets better and better at picking out the shapes that I call out, drawing lines, and even holding his dry erase marker properly.

We don’t always do everything in the packs, but we enjoy what he seems interested in. This is not a forced table time. This is fun for us! We pulled out our Tot Pack twice this last week.

I usually just slip the sheets into page protectors and then tape down the paper onto the table. Since he uses dry erase markers, I don’t worry about him keeping it perfectly on the paper (though of course I encourage it) because it wipes right off the table.

Tot Trays

I usually lay out 5 tot “trays” each week. After trying to find a solution for storage, we found a lovely shelf at IKEA {IKEA trofast shelving} on one of our adventures through the store.

The green shelves hold Samuel’s trays each week plus his coloring sheets that he can pull out at any time to color. I’m still figuring out what I want to use the red bins for. 🙂 This whole system is a work in progress.

I also had a hole punch with paper, but failed to get a picture. I think it’s self explanatory, right? 😉

Samuel loves stickers and beans right now. These have been in his tray rotation for several weeks now. I just change out how he interacts with them (if I remember). I usually leave the trays well enough alone until he ceases to show interest in something, or if I find it’s a little too advanced for him. For example, the hole punch is something I think he would love, but his little hand muscles aren’t ready for them. Tot Trays are a fun way to introduce various learning and life skills.

Tot Toys

We rotate Samuel’s toys for various reasons, but one reason is so he never grows tired and bored with his choices. Another is to cut down on the toys that we have to clean up each day. It’s win-win! Each week I pull out 3 learning toys for him to play with.

Noah’s Ark was a gift from Grammy. He loves this sweet wooden set. We’ve had lots of fun learning animal noises, as well as feeding that “dump and fill” toddler tendency. 🙂

I collected all the indoor balls we own and put them into a basket from IKEA (see a trend?). He loves, loves, loves balls. So he’s dumping, filling, tossing, and enjoying all sorts of creative play with his basket of balls. We’ve practiced tossing and “shooting hoops” with our balls and baskets. This toy has been out for over a month and it has not grown old yet!

Our third toy for the week was a bucket of LEGOS that Na’Nah brought over months ago. He’s slowly taking interest in them as his hands become stronger. Not being able to pull them apart frustrates him, but just this last week he learned to take them apart by himself. So I see Lego towers in our near future.

We also have other toys that stay out all the time (e.g., toy instruments, cars, puppets, IKEA train set, and building blocks), but the remaining toys are in rotation. He is totally in love with his train set right now! I mean, totally in love!

Life School

Most of our learning takes place in normal everyday activities. I bring him into most everything I’m doing. Of course, some days I’m too exhausted and others I “just don’t feel like it.” I am human and selfish just like you. 😉 But honestly, I’ve found Samuel learns so much when he just comes alongside my everyday chores and activities.

After reading Together Growing Appetites for God, my husband and I decided to start reading the Bible together as a family during breakfast. Some days Samuel wants to “read” and we let him. It’s not a perfect time, but it is a time for him to grow familiar with the Bible and who talks to us in the Bible. {Update: We have since grown into our Family Devotions routine with a toddler. You can find out more here!}

Right now, his favorite life skill to work on is cooking! Mark built Samuel a learning tower, and we use it multiple times a day! I choose meals, or at least portions of meals that my toddler can take part in. Last week, Samuel helped make scrambled eggs, pancakes, homemade bread, french bread, blueberry buckle, smoothies, and other things that I’m sure I just can’t remember.

Of course, our blueberry buckle looked a little distorted, but it tasted amazing. I’ve learned that you just have to let go of “perfection” or your idea of what cooking is supposed to be like and let life take over for a bit. Enjoy getting flour in your hair and egg yolks on your floor because you’re building a lasting relationship and encouraging your tot to learn for himself how to do these things. It will be messy, but that’s normal. And your oven will kill the germs.

We also get lots and lots and lots of outside time! I am so thankful to have a home with a back yard that is safe and visible from the kitchen window. I will often send Sam outside to play while I wash dishes at the sink. We also make a weekly trip outdoors somewhere as a family or just the two of us. Last week, it was the park and river that runs beside the library.

What about you? What did you do this week with your toddler? Leave a comment so we can gather some fresh inspiration! 🙂

The Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum for Toddlers is designed to help you teach early learning skills to your child while instilling God’s truth. One week at a time (for 18 weeks), I will guide you through sharing the Gospel with your child through various Bible stories and learning opportunities. Click here to learn more.

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